Theory Briefly

A quick look at theory will help us understand how early experimentors
hoped hypertext would work. We bring to a text all of our memories, ideas,
emotions, and so forth. To assimilate new information, we must be able
to connect it with things we've already experienced-even if the new information
and the old experiences don't fit just right. By making connections between
the text and previous experiences, we create what is called a schema. "Prior
knowledge does not exist as lists in our minds. Instead, prior knowledge
exists as numerous schemata. A schema functions as a unified system of
background relationships whose visible parts stand for the rest of the
schema'".

This webbing of sensory contacts that produces knowledge empowers "both
our comprehension and our memory". Being able to make connections
equals being able to comprehend. And the more connections the reader can
make, the better grasp he or she will have on the new information.

The schema helps the reader build a reading of the text. "When one
reads to comprehend, one's primary aim is to construct an integrated representation
of the text. Put differently, during reading for understanding, most of
our effort is devoted to 'putting the text together' to construct an understanding
of how ideas work as a whole". Schriver's comment that we understand
text better as a whole suggests that the most effective links between the
schema and the text are made between concepts and ideas, not just bits
of data. Once we've "put the text together," we can also take
it apart.